A Time To Turn To God

A Time To Turn To God "In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free." Psalm 118:5 Many times during our lives we get up each morning expecting things to go as we have planned, but so often find that things immediately begin to go wrong. We do not expect to hear the news about a loved one passing away, from a heart attack. We do not expect to hear a report from our physician, about a test we had telling us that we have cancer. We do not expect to hear from our place of employment, that our job has been eliminated. Many of our plans can fall apart in just a few short hours, and our lives can be drastically altered forever. So what do we do when these things happen to us? We can do as David did many times, and cry to the Lord for His intervention. All of the incidents that happen to us are not unknown to God, as He knew before we did, that these things would happen. In these times of stress and despair, we have no one but God to reach out to, and no one but God who can help us deal with these situations. God may not immediately rescue us from these situations, but He can help us deal with them. He can give us peace and comfort us, and help calm the storms that we are suddenly facing. God also has the power to heal and restore, and in His time may elect to do so, but even if He does not answer us immediately, He can give us peace and let us deal with the situations we face. I would encourage each of you, if you are suddenly faced with storm clouds and mountains in your life, to turn them over to God, and let Him walk with you during these times. He can lighten your load and help you. These troubling times may be times that God has given you, testing you, to see if you will respond to Him. David, faithfully cried out to God, in his good times and also in his bad times and God heard him and answered him. God will also hear you. Robert W. Brock My Daily Devotional Volume Seven December 8

Little Things

Little Things "So, if you think are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man." 1 Corinthians 10:12 Have you ever stayed home from church to mow your yard before it rained, or gotten so excited about that new novel that you just bought, that you haven't taken time to read your Bible this past week? But do you know that this is none other than Satan that is tempting us, as this is just some of his schemes to get our mind off God. The devil seeks to compromise Christians through a steady diet of small, seemingly insignificant temptations. Many Christians pride themselves with the fact that we don't do this, or we don't do that, the so called big sins. But when we begin to let the little things keep us from our relationship with God we are lowering our guard and compromising. Little things can be the start to bigger things. There was a massive Redwood tree in California that had stood tall for 400 years, surviving countless earthquakes, storms, floods, and other violent natural disasters. But one day, without warning, this massive tree came crashing to the ground with a tremendous thud. No one knew why. A lumberjack didn't bring it down. A bolt of lightning didn't cause it to fall. After close investigation, the answer was revealed as to why the ancient tree had died. Tiny beetles had worked their way into the trunk and ate away at its life-giving fibers, weakening the tree's mighty bulk from the inside out. What powerful lightning could not do, little insects did. It is like the song that Simon and Garfunkel sung years ago: "Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again, Because a vision softly creeping, Left its seeds while I was sleeping". Little things turn into big things. So don't lower your guard and fall for this trap. When compromise gets into your life, you will start going downhill. Robert W. Brock My Daily Devotional Volume Seven December 7

Through Our Struggles

Through Our Struggles "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees." Psalm 119:71 Are you faced with the trials and troubles of this life and are having trouble knowing what choices you need to make? The Bible tells us to give thanks to God even through adversity. We will all face adversity, and yes, I know it is difficult to thank God for the problems we face; but God will be there with us. God will give us comfort, and provide us with peace even during the difficult times, when we have faith and trust in Him. This is why I can find such comfort in the scripture above as it is telling me that through my adversities that I am learning and growing in my walk with God. It tells me that God will provide for me even during my difficult times. Someone sent me a story recently which shows how God can provide. A mother got a call from school that her son was ill. She tried to leave, but she had locked her keys in the car. She spotted an old coat hanger. "I don't know how to do this," she said and silently prayed to God. A rough-looking man pulled up on a motorcycle. "Do you know how to do this?" she cried. "Sure," he replied, and soon the car was open. She hugged him and said, "You are such a nice man." He replied, "I'm not 'nice.' I just got out of prison for car theft." She threw her hands in the air and shouted, "Thank you, God. You sent me a professional." God is there to help in every trouble, it may not always come as we expect it to, but He is faithful and we can depend on Him. We should turn to God in every need and give thanks for His goodness. We should be grateful and recognize how God blesses us through the people around us who help in our times of need, but first we should turn to God who is always faithful and waiting to help us through our adversities. It is through our struggles that we see the goodness of God, and strengthen our relationship with Him. Robert W. Brock My Daily Devotional Volume Seven December 6

Our Time Is Short

Our Time Is Short "But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable." Jeremiah 2:7 During the past year the news out of Washington has been all about the debt ceiling, and the mountain of debt the United States owes, because as a nation we are spending more money than we are taking in. I am not a politician, but I feel that the battles we are facing as a nation, is due to getting away from Biblical principles and values. We have abandoned God, taking Him out of our schools, our government, endorsed abortion, and approving same sex marriages. I have felt for some time now that God is turning His back on our nation, and allowing these things to happen, as a form of His judgment, because we have turned our back on Him. I feel that our nation is suffering a spiritual crisis, much more than a financial crisis. Our nation has prospered in the past by keeping God present in our government, as regardless of what political party was in power, they still kept Godly values in focus, and governed by Biblical principles. God gave our leaders wisdom and understanding from the time our great nation was founded, because they kept their eyes on Him. But now they have turned away from these values, and no longer have their eyes on God. The wisdom they need to govern our nation, according to Biblical standards has dried up, and is not there, and God is turning His back on us. The financial issues, the defense issues, the social issues, the civil rights issues that are facing us today is just a glimpse of what will come, if we continue in this path. We will soon become the modern Sodom and Gomorrah, and God will bring down His wrath and punishment against us, unless we repent and turn back to God. Our time is short. We all need to pray daily for our nation, that God will give our leaders the wisdom and understanding they need to bring our nation back to God.. Robert W. Brock My Daily Devotional Volume Seven December 5

Stay In The Presence Of God

Stay In The Presence Of God "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who direct you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea" Isaiah 48:17-18 Throughout the Bible we can find scriptures like the one above, that tells us that God can give us the knowledge and wisdom about what is best for us, and how we should live our lives. However, so often we do not pay attention to His commands. For example, as long as we read our Bibles each day and pray to God we are staying in His presence. However, it is so easy to become distracted one day due to the pressures of life, that we don't read our Bible and pray and let God minister to us. The next day it becomes even easier to make excuses that we don't have time to worship God, and spend time with Him. Soon, after a few days we don't have the presence of God to direct us, and we notice other areas of our life being affected as well. Our speech, our actions, our thoughts and our behavior begin to stray from what is pleasing to God. We begin to stray from God's commands, and begin to let Satan take control of our life. This is how easy it is to be led away from the presence of God in our life. I would encourage each of you to not give Satan a foothold in your walk with God, as you must make time in your schedule for Him. Make sure you devote time for God every day, even if you have to eliminate other commitments. God's time is the most important time you should have on your schedule. Don't neglect your prayer time. Make time in your schedule to read your Bible. This is the only way to stay connected, and in the presence of God, and to continue to worship Him on a daily basis. Stay in the presence of God and He will continue to direct your life. Robert W. Brock My Daily Devotional Volume Seven December 4

A Safe Haven

A Safe Haven “The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction.” Proverbs 16:21 Once our words are said, they can never really be taken back. This can be a frightening thought, as so many people say things they really don’t mean, which can have catastrophic ramifications on other people. We must consider both the right words and the right timing, especially when speaking words of correction to our children. We must always be thinking about building others up instead of tearing them down. We have tried to communicate our values to our children throughout our lives, and I believe we have successfully done this, as I believe they are living their lives with the values we have taught them, and are passing these values on down to their children. This is the process I believe God wants families to operate under. Our parents were able to communicate with us, and pass what their parents had passed down through them, and we in turn have been successful in passing this down to our children. This is what the family is all about, as God has given us the guidelines throughout the Bible, and it is the responsibility of the parents to know these guidelines and teach these to their children. Our homes are the most intimate places on earth, for us and our children. Our homes need to be a greenhouse of beauty and growth for us and our families, but this will only become a reality when we follow the instructions of God. When we’re tempted to treat each other harshly, we need to consider God’s model of forgiveness toward each other. Learning to communicate with your spouse and your children is a process, and I know that sometimes it may seem like we are speaking different languages. But over time, and with enough effort, we must learn to understand each other. It is so important to make our homes a haven of peace for our families and our children. Robert W. Brock My Daily Devotional Volume Seven December 3

Your Only Choice

Your Only Choice "You have abandoned the Lord's commands and have followed the Baals. 1 Kings 18:18 Today our government has declared that this is to be a national day of prayer. During this past year, I have warned you that the greatest problem we have in our world today is a void in real spiritual leadership. A true spiritual leader is one who has the courage and intestinal fortitude (guts) to take a stand for God's Truth regardless of what people think, say, or do. A true spiritual leader is never going to win any popularity contest since the masses live in rebellion to God's Truth. A true spiritual leader is not concerned with the temporal things of this world, so he can't be bought. For the child of God, every day should be a day of prayer. We don't need the Federal Government to give us a special day to do what we should be doing already. This reminds me of Elijah's challenge to the people of his day to choose who you will serve. At the time this Biblical account is happening, there is a famine in the land. People were starving, looking everywhere for food. It is my opinion that we have a famine in our land today, only it is a spiritual famine. People are starving for the truth, and looking everywhere for answers to deal with day-to-day life. During Elijah's time, God's people were being blamed for many of the problems the people of that day were facing, much like in our society Christians are fair targets for every kind of criticism. In this politically correct time, it seems the only group you can get away with publicly condemning are those who profess Jesus Christ as their Savior. The truth is, in Elijah's day, and in the age we live, it is God's people that keep society from completely melting down. We are the spiritual glue that holds society together. We would be living in total chaos without people who loved and served the Lord. Just as Elijah challenged the people to choose which God they would serve, we have that same decision to make today. The choice we have to choose from is between the false prophets of Baal and the God of Israel. Our decision today is the same. We can choose to serve the false prophets and gods of this world or the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ. Let me warn you, this is not a game, it is a real life decision that determines where we spend eternity. The false prophets of this world claim they have the answers. They have the answers in the psychic hotlines. They have the answers in alcohol and drugs. They have the answers in money and material possessions. They have the answers in illicit sex. They have the answers in their abortion mills. They have the answers in empty rituals, imaginary gods, and in idols. The only problem is, when you need them, there is no response. In times of trouble, these false prophets of this world are nowhere to be found. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus stands by His promises and proves that He is true and faithful, as this was validated when He rose from the dead on that glorious morning. When He rose from the dead, all He said and taught was validated. He promised never to leave us nor forsake us, and that promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower believers. Millions of lives in the last 2,000 years have been transformed through a personal faith in Christ. Jesus is alive today and at the right hand of God, interceding for those who believe in Him. Elijah challenged the people to "choose who is going to be the God of your life and follow him.' Jesus told us no man can serve two masters. There was only one winner that day on Mount Carmel. The false prophets of Baal failed to produce their god, however, the God of Elijah, the God of the Bible, answered by fire that day, and is still answering the prayers of His children. On this day that our nation celebrates prayer, we need to turn to the one true God, the God of the Bible. I will be praying today that you will make the only choice there is, the choice to choose Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the only one that can guarantee you an everlasting life in Heaven. You have no other choice.